Samsung’s latest round of Wave smartphones running their in-house Bada OS looked pretty snazzy when the curtain was pulled back in late August this year. The Wave Y, Wave M, and Wave 3 looked an awful lot like lower-cost remixes of the popular Galaxy S2 — and soon they’ll be capable of running Android just like their more aristocratic cousin.

Developers have already gotten an alpha version of Android for the Samsung Wave up and running. As you’d expect from a project like this that’s in its early stages, certain functionality isn’t supported just yet. 3G modems and integrated sensors don’t currently work, but Wi-Fi, audio, and video are fully functional. The Android Market app also works just fine, and some 3D games have been kind enough to cooperate, too.

You can find complete instructions over in the XDA forums, but as with any ROM hacking procedure, you should proceed with caution. There’s always a certain element of danger when you load an OS onto a device that wasn’t expressly built to support it. There’s also a pesky shutdown bug at the moment: leave your Wave phone idle for too long, and it’ll power off. Devs are still plugging away, however, so expect to see plenty of refinements in the coming days.

As slick as the new Bada OS 2.0 looks, if you’re saddled with a Wave and find yourself wishing you could tap into the vast repository of Android apps instead, have a little patience and your prayers will soon be answered!